Sanitary, washing and drinking facilities

Regulation 20 states that suitable and sufficient toilets must be provided, adequately ventilated and lit, kept clean and maintained in an orderly condition. The ACoP and guidance recommends that toilets should contain toilet paper in a holder or dispenser; have a facility for hanging coats; and, where used by women, contain the means for disposal of sanitary towels.

Regulation 21 states that suitable and sufficient washing facilities must be provided, including showers where necessary due to the nature of the work or for health reasons. Washing facilities will be considered suitable if they are in the immediate vicinity of toilets or changing rooms, provided with a clean supply of hot and cold (or warm) water, soap, and towels, and are sufficiently ventilated, lit and kept clean and orderly.

Separate toilet and washing facilities must be provided for men and women, except where the facilities are provided in a room intended for the use of one person at a time and which can be secured from the inside. This last provision does not apply to washing facilities intended for the hands, forearms and face only.

Minimum requirements for toilets and wash stations

The revised ACoP and guidance lists the minimum facilities that should be provided:

An additional toilet and wash station should then be provided for every 25 (or fraction of 25) people over 100. Alternative arrangements for facilities only used by men are also set out. The regulations also specify that an adequate supply of drinking water and cups must be provided (Regulation 22).

TUC campaign — Give us a (Loo) Break

The TUC is campaigning for a change in the law to prevent employers being able to penalise staff for using the toilet in work time. Its Give us a (Loo) Break report provides examples of staff having to put their hands up to use the toilet, record the number of times they go to the toilet each day or travel a long way for access to a toilet. Give us a (Loo) Break calls for:

• HSE and local authority inspectors to ensure employers are complying with their obligations under UK safety laws by providing suitable, sufficient and accessible toilets and washing facilities that are clean, well ventilated, lit and stocked with soap and towels; and

• a change in the law so that employees can go to the toilet whenever they need to, in work rather than their own time, so long as they are not endangering the safety of their colleagues.

Public services union UNISON has warned that council cuts to public conveniences are leaving workers with no place to go to the toilet. It says workers suffering from too few loos include paramedics, transport workers, police community support officers, postal workers and bin men, who spend their working day out and about. The union is calling for free, convenient and safe access to toilets for both those inside a workplace and those who are mobile. It says the situation has been worsened significantly by government cuts.